A journal dedicated to truth, freedom of speech and radical spiritual consciousness. Our mission is the liberation of men and women from oppression, violence and abuse of any kind, interpersonal, political, religious, economic, psychosexual. We believe as Fidel Castro said, "The weapon of today is not guns but consciousness."

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Economy Tied to Gun Violence in Oakland

Economy Tied to Gun Violence in Oakland

City leaders acknowledge the need to bridge the gap between affluent and poor communities in Oakland in order to reduce violence

A
six-month NBC Bay Area investigation found a growing economic disparity
between different areas of Oakland. It’s a gap that research scientists
say is contributing to continuing violent crime in some parts of the
city. NBC Bay Area Chief Investigative Reporter Stephen Stock reports in
a video that first aired on June 3, 2016. (Published Friday, June 3,
2016)

A
six-month NBC Bay Area investigation found a growing economic disparity
between different areas of Oakland. It’s a gap that research scientists
say is contributing to continuing violent crime in some parts of the
city.

While overall, the crime
rate has fallen in recent years, a closer breakdown of the data by NBC
Bay Area’s Investigative Unit discovered that some communities are still
plagued by violence.

In many
parts of Oakland the economy is booming. But in the city’s historically
marginalized neighborhoods the data shows the rising economic tide, so
far, is not lifting them up. Instead, US Census data shows that in many
cases the rising economy is actually pushing them out.

In
areas where violence continues to be a serious issue, such as parts of
East and West Oakland, the latest census data shows high rates of
unemployment (17.06 percent), low education levels and more than 30,000
residents living below the poverty line. The average household income
in deep East Oakland ($47,318.50) is only a little more than half the
citywide average ($80,758.00).

Experts
who spoke with NBC Bay Area say violence, a symptom of an unhealthy
community, will continue to affect those neighborhoods until they’re
provided the same access to opportunity as the residents living in
thriving Oakland communities nearby.

“We’ve
moved to the point where you have disinvestment, no jobs, poor
schools,” said Dr. Howard Pinderhughes, an associate professor in the
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at UCSF’s School of
Nursing. He’s spent his career working on the prevention of violence in
places such as Boston, New York and the Bay Area and currently works
with Oakland’s Prevention Institute.
“We’ve come to understand that all these things add up to conflict and
trauma which then helps to feed the cycle of violence. And then we blame
the people. Then we say they’re super predators. They we say they’re
dysfunctional families.”

In an
interview with the Investigative Unit, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said
reducing violence is her top priority. Solving the problem will take a
holistic approach which she said means smart policing, but also opening
up pathways to education, jobs, and affordable housing.

“We’re
looking at the root causes of crime, and by that I mean better jobs,
better educational outcomes,” Schaaf said. “We’re looking at really
building the economy in Oakland in an equitable way so people who have
previously been left out of economic prosperity are getting access.”

But Oakland isn’t there yet.

In
places like deep East Oakland, where gun violence continues to be an
issue, the latest census data shows 18 percent unemployment. Only 9.1
percent of residents hold a college degree. Contrast that with the
Oakland Hills where more than 75 percent of residents have a college
degree and the average household income has risen above $188,000.

In
that same area of deep East Oakland, police data shows there were 26
murders and 90 gun arrests between August 2015 and May 2016.

In Oakland, access to opportunity can depend on where you live

Crime
is down across Oakland, but gun violence continues to be a problem in
communities such as East and West Oakland. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf
says access to education and economic opportunity for all Oakland
residents is the key to reducing violence. This map shows the
opportunity gap that exists when neighborhoods affected by violence,
such as Deep East Oakland, are compared to peaceful ones, such as
Oakland Hills.

Source: The United States Census Bureau

Coach
Todd Walker knows firsthand what can happen when institutions fail
communities. He’s volunteered as a youth football coach for 20 years but
earns his living as a funeral home assistant.

“It’s
going to take these cities to start opening up doors to these kids,”
Walker said. “Cause when they turn 13 or 14, they’re turning their back
on them. And once you turn your back on them, the streets get them. And
once the streets get them, that’s it. The streets are like a spider
web.”

Walker, who coaches
football around the fields of Oakland, said he’s buried more than 20 of
his former players over the years, mostly teenagers.

“It’s
so many of them I can’t even count,” Walker said. “I did three in the
first month I started working here. First week I did one – 14 years old.
This is a kid that you probably held as a baby. Now you’re rolling them
in a casket.”

Behind the Scenes: Coaching Oakland's Youth

Todd Walker, funeral home assistant and youth football coach, talks about
his methods of educating young people about the dangers of gun violence.
(Published Friday, Feb. 26, 2016)

Pinderhughes
said kids in these neighborhoods can be set up to fail at a young age
by the very institutions meant to help them. He calls it structural
violence.

“The school system, the
juvenile justice system, the foster system – all of which are taking
children and young people who are traumatized and using approaches and
systems that further the traumatizing,” he said. “They’re trauma
inducing systems rather than trauma informed systems.”

But
Pinderhughes said cities such as Oakland are now coming to the
realization that preventing violence isn’t just about more cops on the
street.

“One of the things I’ve
seen across the country is law enforcement officials who are coming out
and saying we can’t arrest our way out of this problem,” Pinderhughes
said. “We have to work together with public health, with education, with
social services.”

Mayor Schaaf
agrees, and said she’s dedicated to addressing the underlying causes of
violence. She points to the fact that half of Oakland residents are
asset insecure, meaning they don’t have enough savings to live above the
poverty line for three months.

She
said her administration is rolling out initiatives to aggressively deal
with these issues, such as spending $23 million on Oakland Promise, a
program that gives babies born into poverty a $500 college savings
account. Schaaf also touted a partnership with Kiva Zip, a non-profit
organization that provides zero interest loans for entrepreneurs who
otherwise wouldn’t be able to secure a one.

“We believe in ten years we will triple the number of Oakland students who graduate from college,” Schaaf said.

But
Pinderhughes worries that the residents who have lived through years of
violence and poverty in some of Oakland’s communities won’t be around
when those areas are restored to health. He points across the Bay to San
Francisco, where he says the African American community has all but
disappeared. He said San Francisco serves as an example of what can
happen when money floods a city and free market forces are left
unchecked, leaving those poorer residents no choice but to pack up and
leave.

“The biggest issue if we
are successful in this is that when you’re successful in reducing
violence and making communities safer, they then become desirable
neighborhoods that are prone to gentrification and displacement,”
Pinderhughes said. “There’s investment coming in and it’s now becoming
more and more difficult and even impossible for people who have lived
here for at least a couple of generations to stay.”

Schaaf said the threat is real, and is one her administration takes seriously.

“Oakland
has an affordability crisis,” Schaaf said. “And the prosperity should
not push out the very people who have been in this city all along. We
need to do a number of things. We need to build more housing because we
cannot build a wall around Oakland. People are moving here and so we
need to build more housing that they can move into so we don’t push out
the people that are here now.”

Mayor
Schaaf said Oakland leaders also need to strengthen protections for
renters and put measures in place to keep a large stock of affordable
yet safe and clean housing.

Pinderhughes
said the clock is ticking, but there’s still time to intervene in
Oakland if leaders are willing to take the necessary steps.

“It’s
a question of the political, social and economic will to make the
policy changes and take courageous political action,” Pinderhughes said.

About Me

Truth will not make you rich, but it will make you free.--Francis Bacon

Marvin has been ignored and silenced,like Malcolm would be ignored and silenced if he had lived on into the Now. He's one of the most extraordinary, exciting black intellectuals living today --Rudolph Lewis, Chickenbones.